Bayard leader Zeke Santa Maria dies

Longtime Bayard civil servant Ezequiel “Zeke” Santa Maria died Saturday after a long battle with cancer and a life devoted to serving his community. Santa Maria was a Bayard city councilor for decades, the city clerk for other decades and served two terms on the Grant County Commission.

Lights were off in the Bayard City Council chambers Monday afternoon, despite a scheduled council meeting. After news of Santa Maria’s death broke, the council and staff decided a moratorium was in order. The longtime councilor’s name placard still sat on the council bench in the building he helped build in 1988.

Santa Maria was born in Vanadium, N.M., on Jan. 28, 1942, to Ezequiel and Soledad Santa Maria, according to his obituary. He graduated from both Cobre High School and Western New Mexico University.

He also served as a combat medic in the Vietnam War before being honorably discharged in 1966. He came home to a job at the Chino copper mine, when it was owned by Kennecott. In 1980, Santa Maria heard another call, ran for and was elected to the Bayard City Council. He would serve eight years in that first stint, before applying to be city clerk-treasurer in 1988. He would work that post until 2003. During those years, he also found time to serve two terms on the Grant County Commission.

Through all of that, Santa Maria had a few constants — his clear devotion to his community, his wife of 51 years, Socorro Santa Maria, and his lifelong friend and current Bayard mayor, Chon Fierro.

“We were born in Vanadium,” Fierro told the Daily Press on Monday. “They moved to Bayard, but the families still visited. As we were growing up, and Little League started in Bayard, we were the first to sign up. To me, Zeke was just like a brother to me. That’s how well we got along. He was drafted and went into the Army. He came back from Vietnam and we were still the same old buddies. In 1980, we both ran for the City Council and both won. All these years, we were real good friends. We might disagree during a council meeting, but when the meeting adjourned, we were still old pals. We didn’t let anything get between that. He was a brother, a friend. I am sure going to miss him.”

District 39 state Rep. Rudy Martinez served as mayor of Bayard for a time during Santa Maria’s tenure as clerk. Since, they have worked together during Martinez’s time in Santa Fe.

“He did a great job in making sure the city was fiscally capable of providing its services,” Rep. Martinez said. “I would also like to recognize his service to our country as a Marine. His efforts toward baseball for the local area need to be recognized as well. His passing is a great loss to our community. And he was a great friend, a great guy.”

Santa Maria was a coach for Copper Little League for 14 years, serving as district administrator for Little League Baseball for 10 years. It is in that capacity he first met District 28 Sen. Howie Morales, who would later coach baseball in Bayard himself.

“I have always appreciated the leader and public servant he has always been,” Morales said. “As a small child who participated in the Little League programs, Zeke was a driving force and amazing administrator who provided for all kids in our county. As an elected official, Zeke continued to demonstrate how much he cared for the people he represented.”

Current City Clerk-Treasurer Kristina Ortiz told the Daily Press on Monday that she learned the ropes of her job when Santa Maria held the post. Santa Maria was clerk when Ortiz took her first job at city hall as a co-op intern.

“He did so much while he was here,” she said. “City hall, the public safety building, the community center. Those were all built under him. He started the wastewater program. He and the team then went to Washington, D.C., to get that. He has always supported everybody — Little League, council. There was nobody like him. He would help anybody if you needed it.”

Priscilla Lucero, executive director of the Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments, also worked with Santa Maria for decades, both as a councilor and as a clerk.

“It’s been an honor and a privilege to work with these individuals, like Zeke,” she said. “With anybody who does these jobs, it is a passion for their community. And for him to be involved for as long as he was is such a clear testament to that. Once he retired to be councilor again, that cinched it. It’s one of those things that’s in your blood. It’s who he was.”

Visitation is scheduled for 5 p.m. today at Baca’s Funeral Chapels in Silver City. The prayer vigil and rosary will follow at 6 p.m.The funeral liturgy is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Bayard. Concluding services and burial will take place at 1 p.m. at Fort Bayard National Cemetery.